European stock markets closed mostly lower in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe was off 0.15%, Germany's DAX declined 0.71%, France's CAC lost 0.63%, and the Swiss Market Index was down 0.07%, while the FTSE in London rose 0.93%.

Annual inflation in the UK remained unchanged at 3.8% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics, which was below analyst forecasts of 4.0%, according to Bloomberg. Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose by 3.5% annually in September, down from 3.6% in August. Analysts expected core inflation to increase by 3.7%, according to Bloomberg.

However, the ONS said UK inflation is still higher than the 2.6% rate for the European Union, as well as in Germany and France, where the inflation rate for September was 2.4% and 1.1% respectively.

And in corporate news, Alkermes will acquire Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at about $2.1 billion, the companies said Wednesday.

Under the agreement, the companies said Alkermes will make an upfront cash payment of $18.50 per share, plus a potential $1.50 per share in a contingent value right tied to US Food and Drug Administration approval of Avadel's Lumryz for idiopathic hypersomnia in adults by the end of 2028.

Shares of Alkermes fell more than 12% in Frankfurt, while Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares gained nearly 4% on the Nasdaq exchange.

Barclays reported Q3 earnings Wednesday of 0.104 British pound ($0.14) per basic share, down from 0.107 pound a year earlier. Total income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 7.17 billion pounds, compared with 6.55 billion pounds a year earlier.

Barclays also said it intends to initiate a share buyback of up to 500 million pounds.

Source : MT Newswires